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1 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


A  STUDY  IN  THE  ETHICS  OF  THE 

EARLY  ROMANTIC  SCHOOL 

IN    GERMANY 


BY 

HARRY  SPENCER  BLACKISTON 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  IN 

PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


INTERNATIONAL   PRINTING  COMPANY 

PHILADELPHIA 
1920 


'!!*\C*"'*.'^'r?''S 


AFFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED 

TO 

MY   PARENTS 


I 


Since  the  writers  of  the  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 
are  so  often  censured  and  even  deemed  as  being  apart  from  their 
times  simply  because  of  their  behavior,  the  desire  awoke  in  me 
to  seek  out  the  motives  which  caused  the  actions  of  this  group 
to  become  the  bfe^i^oi  merciless  criticism.  In  this  endeavor  I 
feel  greatly  indebted  to  Dr.  Daniel  B.  Shumway  for  his  untir- 
ing efforts  and  kindly  advice,  and  also  to  Dr.  Emil  Doemenburg 
for  his  helpful  criticism. 

Philadelphia,  May,  1920. 


A  STUDY  IN  THE  ETHICS  OE  THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC 
SCHOOL  IN  GERMANY. 

Introduction. 

It  is  very  probable  that  any  writer  or  group  of  writers  will 
be  subjected  to  the  pen  of  the  critic,  whether  they  abound  in 
deficiencies  or  not.  But,  should  the  ethics  of  the  individual  or 
group  diverge  somewhat  from  the  line  drawn  by  society,  there 
is  no  limit  to  the  untold  severity  of  merciless  criticism,  no  ele- 
ment of  defense  in  the  many  comments.  Still  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  no  one  can  calculate  the  depth  of  a  body  of  water 
by  merely  scanning  the  surface;  nor  can  anyone  fully  realize 
the  profundity  of  any  situation  by  viewing  it  superficially.  In 
other  words,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  critic  resort  to 
detailed  investigation.  He  must  go  below  the  surface  to  solve 
the  complicated  problems  which  may  be  presented.  Thereby 
he  will  acquaint  himself  with  the  factors  that  mould  the  pattern 
for  the  times. 

Then  again,  the  average  human  being  does  or  says  as  he  or 
she  sees  fit,  and  can  very  often  furnish  justifiable  reasons  there- 
for. Everyone  reserves  for  oneself  the  privileged  right  of  per- 
sonal opinion  and  belief.  But  herein  lies  a  decisive  difiference. 
Some  people  are  lovers  of  the  truth,  and  therefore  speak  candidly 
and  act  openly ;  others  are  prone  to  lose  courage  and  try  to  hide 
behind  a  transparent  veil  of  false  modesty.  Those,  who  can  be 
included  within  this  latter  category,  are  only  reticent  and  untrue 
to  themselves,  simply  because  they  are  in  the  majority.  If  the 
proportion  be  reversed,  they  would  be  more  than  glad  to  feel 
the  relief  from  the  pressure  removed.  But  those  poor  unfortu- 
nates, who  are  forced  by  their  nature  and  spurred  on  by  their 
immediate  environment  to  be  outspoken,  become  down-trodden 
social  outcasts.  If  we  ask  ourselves  why  this  is  so,  the  answer 
is:  primarily  because  they  are  in  the  minority,  as  all  persecuted 
classes  are.  No  credit  or  encouragement  is  given  them  for  their 
originality.  Yet  they  are  as  determined  as  ever  in  their  aim, 
and  proceed  with  the  innovations  that  are  criteria  for  their  own 
development.     Such  testimony  figured  in  the  case  of  the  Early 

(7) 


8       Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

Romantic  School,  which  flourished  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth.  Like  other 
human  beings  they  were  susceptible  to  psychic  influences;  they 
were  in  harmony  with  the  prevailing  tendencies  of  their  envi- 
ronment, and  lived  in  accordance  with  the  same.  Thus  we  see 
a  gradual  development  of  their  surroundings  as  a  working  basis 
for  their  morals. 

Background:  Factors  Antedating  the  Romantic 
Movement. 

Without  the  least  doubt,  the  meml^ers  of  the  group  in  ques- 
tion made  a  decided  departure  from  the  status  quo  of  accepted 
moral  law.  But  let  us  not  fail  to  realize  that  there  were  deep- 
seated  causes  for  such  a  metamorphosis  in  life;  and  since  life's 
stage  is  equipped  with  a  natural  background,  the  motives  for 
this  change  must  be  analyzed.  The  Italian  Rennaissance  brought 
about  a  marked  revival  not  only  of  Greek  art,  but  also  of  pagan 
philosophy  and  religion.  During  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV  this 
wave  surged  over  France ;  but  it  did  not  break  over  Germany 
until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  after  which  time 
there  dawned  an  era  of  restlessness  in  almost  every  field  of  ac- 
tivity. Then  through  Winckelmann's  initiative  his  countrymen 
awoke  to  the  significance  of  pagan  art  and  culture.  A  dis- 
tinctly new  method  of  procedure  took  place  in  the  intellectual 
life  of  Germany.  Winckelmann  did  nothing  more  than  emanci- 
pate himself  from  the  traditions  and  sentiments  prevailing  in 
his  own  century.  There  was  no  denunciation  of  Christianity; 
it  was  simply  ignored.  The  arrows  of  free  thought  and  action 
were  arrayed  against  the  pronounced  bigotry  and  hypocrisy  then 
existing  among  the  clergy,  and  not  against  Christianity.  The 
result  was  crystallized  into  stereotyped  doctrines,  which  became 
the  watchwords  of  a  certain  clique  of  men,  the  well-known  party 
of  the  Aufkldrung.^  The  movement  began  with  the  perception 
that  honest  men  are  bound  to  think  for  themselves ;  and  it  ended 


'  Cf.,  tlic  various  histories  of   German   literature,  particularly  \'ogt  unJ 
Koch:  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Literatur,  U,  130  ff;  535. 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Ronianlic  School  in  Germany       9 

in  attempts  to  mould  all  men  to  one  pattern.  At  the  outset  it 
helped  to  sweep  away  bigotry  and  superstition,  only  to  restore 
the  same,  when,  in  the  course  of  time,  it  became  narrow,  its 
prescriptions  rigid  and  suffocating.  The  ultimate  consequence 
was  to  supply  every  citizen  with  a  ready-made  code  of  morals, 
by  which  all  his  actions  from  birth  to  death  were  to  lie  regu- 
lated. Thus  this  period  became  characteristic  of  narrowness  of 
vision,  utter  absence  of  imagination,  extreme  utilitarianism  and 
a  consequent  hostility  to  everything  which  pointed  l^eyond  this 
temporal  sphere  of  existence. 

It  appealed  to  the  Philistines,  whose  most  powerful  cham- 
pion and  representative  Xicholai,-  the  author,  publisher  and 
moralist,  exerted  all  his  efforts  to  suppress  the  ever-growing 
measures  of  the  reformers  by  the  narrow  principles  of  his  school. 
The  result  of  his  endeavors,  however,  was  in  the  end  to  make 
him  a  target  for  every  would-be  critic.  For  such  tendencies 
ignored  the  emotional  nature  of  man,  and  proved  to  be  too  in- 
adequate to  satisfy  the  warm-hearted  imaginative  Germans. 
Louder  and  louder  became  the  protests ;  a  tidal  wave  of  reaction 
deluged  the  land.  In  the  seventh  and  eighth  decades  of  the 
century  the  pressure  became  so  great,  that  a  violent  upheaval 
took  place  in  all  Germany.  It  found  expression  in  the  so-called 
Sturm  und  Drang  movement."'^  a  revolt  against  authority  and 
existing  social  order.  Never  before  had  individualism  been 
preached  with  such  vehemence  and  aggressiveness.  It  tried  to 
destroy  every  hindrance  to  individual  growth,  to  laud  primitive 
unadulterated  nature,  instinct  and  passion,  to  throw  off  the  out- 
worn lx)nds  of  medieval  society.  Young  Goethe  and  Schiller 
brought  this  revolt  to  its  climax  in  literary  monuments. 

Superficially  this  period  of  reform  was  short-lived,  that  is, 
in  literature ;  but  it  was  as  a  seed  on  virgin  soil  to  the  A-ounger 
generation.  Even  though  Goethe  and  Schiller  had  set  the  pace 
for  this  revolt,  they  were  naturally  growing  older,  becoming  set, 
as  it  were,  in  their  opinions.     Their  youthful  ideas  gave  place 


*  Vogt  und  Koch:',  Geschichte  der  deutschcn  Liteiatur,  II,  151   ff ;  537. 
Mbid.,  II.  224  ff;  543. 


lo     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

to  the  calmness  of  mature  manhood.  They  then  moved  along 
classical  lines  exclusively,  and  employed  the  elaborately  planned 
rules  and  formulae  of  the  ancients.  As  the  century  advanced, 
classicism  ■*  too  saw  its  decline.  In  F"rance  the  crisis  of  the 
Revolution  was  near  at  hand.^  Germany,  her  nearest  neighbor, 
must  necessarily  sense  her  immediate  influence.  Consequently 
the  new  movement  fell  into  the  same  category  with  the 
Aufkldrung.  It  too  became  sober.  Goethe's  pantheism  could 
no  longer  warm  the  hearts  of  the  masses.  The  people  wanted 
to  be  enthused,  to  become  intoxicated  and  enraptured,  to  feel 
a  knight's  enthusiasm  and  a  monk's  ecstasy,  to  rave  poetically 
and  to  dream  melodiously.  The  German  people  were  in  a  state 
of  extraordinary  ferment.  The  military  despotism  of-  Friedrich 
Wilhelm  had  slackened  in  the  feeble  hands  of  his  incapable 
successor.  And  with  the  relaxation  of  military  discipline,  there 
was  a  wholesale  abandonment  of  all  restraint.  A  state  of  license 
and  freedom  ensued,  which  to  the  narrow-minded  critic  was  as 
glaring  and  as  widely  spread  as  the  excesses  that  disgraced  the 
English  court  of  Charles  II.  The  only  check  to  the  excesses  of 
the  time  had  been  the  ineffective  one  by  the  leaders  of  the  En- 
lightenment. But  they  were  now  dead;  and  the  young  genera- 
tion felt  that  the  vitality  of  their  doctrines  had  died  with  them. 
Thus  the  clouds  bursted,  bringing  along  a  subsequent  revolt 
against  this  dry  wooden  utilitarianism,  namely  romanticism. ° 

Program  of  tfie  Early  Romantic  School — a  Synonym  for 
Innovations  in  Moral  Law. 

In  this  new  school  of  Romanticism  the  revolutionary  factors 
of  the  Sturm  unci  Drang  period  gradually  gave  \vay  to  a  spirit 
of  longing  and  desire, — an  impulse  which  ruled  the  intellectual 
world  for  generations,  and  which  is  still  believed  to  be  the  chief 
hope  for  the  future.     It   found  more  or  less  impassioned  and 


*  Vogt  und  Koch:  GeschiclUe  dcr  deutschen  Litcratur.  II.  307  ff.  556. 
'  Treitschke,  II.  von:  Deutsche  Geschichtc  ini  19.  Jht..  Chap.  I. 

•  Vogt  und  Koch:  Geschiclite  der  deutschen  Literatur,  II,  333  ff ;  560. 


Study  ill  Ethics  of  Early  Roinaiitic  School  in  Gcnnany     1 1 

defiant  expression  in  every  land :  but  its  earliest  and  strongest 
impulse  is  generally  regarded  to  have  sprung  from  Germany. 
Here  it  was  fought  in  the  realm  of  the  intellect;  in  France,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  was  staged  on  the  battlefields.  This  revolt 
against  the  old-established  order,  however,  was  nothing  more 
than  a  revived  Stunii  unci  Drang. 

The  romanticists  and  their  disciples  on  the  whole  yearned 
for  color  and  variety,  demanding  something  warm  and  musical. 
They  desired  nothing  that  was  severe,  cold  and  alien  to  their 
nature.  Naturally  they  avoided  anything  like  Goethe's  Achilleis 
or  Schiller's  Braut  von  Messina  with  its  solemn  antique  choruses, 
because  these  productions  lx)re  a  too  classic  stamp.  Democracy 
was  the  gist  of  their  annals;  liberty  and  individualism  formed 
the  basis  for  the  texts  of  their  sermons.  Then  again,  there 
was  no  laxity  in  the  execution  of  their  principles.  In  short,  they 
practiced  v^-hat  they  preached.  Freedom  was  exercised  in  every 
respect.  There  dawned  a  broader  conception  of  moral  law.  The 
sceptical  half-cynical  rule  of  Friedrich  the  Great  had  left  men's 
minds  free  and  unrestrained,  whereby  imagination  was  every- 
where aroused.  The  result  was  a  very  natural  and  logical  co- 
incidence. From  the  individualistic  tendency,  acquired  during 
their  youth,  developed  self-centred  thought  and  action.  There- 
fore they  were  obliged  to  formulate  a  new  code  of  morals,  abid- 
ing by  the  same  with  deplorable  consistency, — the  most  obvious 
cause  for  bitter  criticism.  The  secret  of  their  method  in  doing 
things  might  be  summed  up  in  a  single  sentence. — a  sentence 
which  to  the  superficial  mind  would  seem  a  mere  truism:  they 
believed  and  acted  by  being  l^elievers  and  actors.  What  they 
did  is  explained  by  what  they  were.  The  early  romanticists, 
all  of  them,  lived  for  themselves  alone.  The  state  was  nothing ; 
the  individual  was  all.  This  was  the  theory,  this  was  the  prac- 
tice of  their  life.  The  individualistic  idea  was  never  forgotten. 
They  were  like  the  legendary  Curtius.  willing  for  themselves,  to 
take  a  forlorn  leap  into  darkness  in  quest  of  their  ideal.  Every- 
thing was  to  1)e  dared,  everything  endured,  to  make  the  indi- 
vidual greater  than  it  was.     Obstacles  to  morality  or  convention 


12     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

did  not  exist  for  them.  Anything  was  easily  disregarded,  if  it 
curtailed,  to  any  extent,  their  method  for  self-development. 

But  what  more  could  be  expected?  Could  anyone  conceive 
of  Tieck,  for  example,  as  a  conservative  yomig  man,  knowing 
that  he  learned  to  read  from  a  book  like  Geothe's  Gdt2?  Even 
though  crude  in  construction,  Gots  is  a  genuine  warm  and  full- 
blooded  picture.  The  reader's  sympathy  is  involuntarily  enlisted 
in  behalf  of  the  law  breaker,  whose  sturdy  manhood  and  stub- 
bornness bring  him  into  conflict  with  the  state.  Then,  too,  the 
revolutionary  spirit  of  Schiller's  Rciuber  was  the  keynote  of  the 
age.  These  young  radicals  blame  society  and  not  the  Titan, 
who  cannot  help  his  having  l^een  made  on  a  larger  scale  than 
his  opponents.  Thereby  they  voice  the  sentiments  of  Schiller. 
the  youthful  disciple  of  Rousseau,  who  created  a  production, 
that  is  expressive  of  the  revolt  of  a  powerful  nature  against 
conventional  reality.  The  reformer  takes  this  step,  because  con- 
vention places  its  narrow  barriers  called  law  and  custom  in  his 
way  on  all  sides.  For  according  to  him,  a  great  man  should  be 
a  law  unto  himself.  Society  is  arranged  for  the  convenience 
and  comfort  of  fools,  and  not  of  wise  men:  of  pygmies,  not  of 
giants.  A  giant  would  be  justified  in  trampling  upon  the  laws 
made  for  the  guidance  of  pygmy  lives.  But  the  pygmies,  being 
so  much  more  numerous  than  giants,  are,  after  all,  collectively 
the  stronger;  and  by  their  petty  needle  pricks  they  are  apt  to 
harass  the  solitary  Titan,  until  he  rises  in  wrath,  breaks  down 
their  legal  hedges  and  barriers,  and  wages  war  with  them  single- 
handed.  In  the  eyes  of  the  world  he  becomes  a  malefactor,  a 
criminal,  but  not  so  the  revolutionist.  Yet  in  this  category,  we 
have  nothing  but  the  effect  of  the  Kantian  doctrines  which  per- 
vaded the  minds  of  the  reformers  of  the  time. 

In  this  respect,  the  prevailing  tendency  of  the  life  of  these 
radicals  is  extreme  individualism.  Only  the  raw  material  of 
their  cognition  was  found  in  the  outer  world;  and  it  was  the 
mind  w-hich  endowed  this  raw  material  with  form.  All  nature, 
as  they  knew  it,  was  a  product  of  the  human  mind.  Each  in- 
dividual observer  compels  the  objects  to  submit  to  the  functions 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Rojiianiic  Sclioul  in  Germany     13 

of  his  mind;  and  therefore  he  is  a  law-giver.  Within  each  indi- 
vidual resides  moral  law  as  the  most  complete  expression  of 
man's  highest  dignity:  and  this  law  is  felt  instinctively  by  him. 
The  true  freedom  of  man  lies  in  the  obedience  to  moral  law, 
in  submission  to  the  voice  of  duty  which  speaks  from  within. 
Around  this  central  point  revolves  his  spiritual  existence.  Every- 
thing else  in  the  world  is  consequently  subject  to  doubt  and 
misrepresentation.  Thus  the  dictates  of  duty  alone  were  to 
them  a  direct  and  unmistakable  revelation  of  the  divine. 

W^ith  this  hypothesis  in  the  foreground  the  romanticists  were 
naturally  stirred  to  action  by  Goethe's  Wilhelm  Meister, — a  por- 
trayal of  the  distintegration  of  feudal  society.  For  it  is  a  man's 
usefulness,  which  finally  must  secure  him  a  place  in  society. 
Goethe  was  well  aware  that  society  had  not  yet  reached  this  stage; 
but  he  merely  wished  to  indicate  the  direction  which  the  develop- 
ment of  the  future  must  inevitably  take.  So  the  quest  for  the 
ideal,  which  drew  most  of  the  romanticists  into  a  life  of  ad- 
venture, was  just  the  individual  manifestation  of  restless  dis- 
content,— a  factor  which  animates  society  at  large,  and  is  slowly 
revolutionizing  it  in  accordance  with  the  changed  conditions  of 
modern  life.  But  this  element  of  reform  became  more  and  more 
pronounced  in  the  romantic  writers.  In  spite  of  the  revolution- 
ary influences  that  colored  the  environment  of  their  youth,  they 
had  been  held  in  check  by  their  strict  religious  parents,  who  were 
staunch  disciples  of  the  Enlighteners.  And,  of  course,  they  had 
been  between  two  fires,  so  to  speak,  namely:  paternal  love  on 
the  one  hand,  and  duty  to  themselves  on  the  other.  Their 
heart's  desire  had  always  been  to  put  their  own  plans  into 
execution.  But  with  conflicting  views  on  every  side,  they  were 
apparently  at  sea.  There  was  no  landing  place  in  sight  for  their 
aims.  In  despair  they  gave  up  hope,  and  lost  all  interest  in 
the  project  of  self-development:  and  through  carelessness  as  to 
their  conduct,  they  permitted  themselves  to  drift  along  aim- 
lessly. But  when  they  saw  in  the  background  of  Berlin 
Schleiermacher  and  Rahel's  salon,  a  safe  harlx)r,  with  Fried- 
rich  Schlegel  as  their  pilot,  they  lost  no  time  in  setting  sail; 


14     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Roviantic  School  in  Germany 

and  they  were  soon  headed  toward  this  port,  where  they  dropped 
anchor.  \A'ith  prospects  of  their  dreams  being  reahzed,  they 
forthwith  alHed  themselves  with  Rahel  Levin  and  her  fol- 
lowers.'^ 

Rahel  Levix  and  Her  Salon — the  Haven  of  Refuge  for 
THE  Romanticists  and  Their  New  Moral  Code. 

It  was  Friedrich  Schlegel's  quick  perception  of  the  common 
need,  that  led  him  in  particular  to  this  little  society,  whose  main 
bond  of  union  was  the  admiration  felt  by  its  meml^ers  for  the 
freedom  and  sense  of  emancipation  characterizing  young  Goethe, 
which  by  no  means  was  the  common  taste  in  Berlin.  Like  the 
romanticists,  Berlin  society  was  immersed  in  numerous  conflict- 
ing tendencies  in  morals,  philosophy  and  religion.  At  one  ex- 
treme was  the  sober  utilitarian  life  of  the  Enlighteners,  with 
whom  religion  and  even  the  human  passions  were  regarded 
superficially.  At  the  other  was  the  higher  fashionable  circle 
around  the  court,  consisting  of  snobs,  hypocrites,  and  for  the 
most  part  insincere  personages,  who  used  religion  as  a  cloak 
on  ecclesiastical  occasions,  abandoning  it  at  other  times  in  pref- 
erence to  licentiousness  and  coarse  unrestraint.  Half  way  be- 
tween lay  the  Jewish  salons,  where  black-eyed  Jewesses,  "radi- 
ant with  the  beauty  of  their  rich  Oriental  womanhood,  burned 
incense,  somewhat  indiscriminately,  to  every  new  candidate  for 
literary  laurels."  ^ 

Very  remarkable  it  is,  that  such  a  down-trodden  and  perse- 
cuted race  like  the  Jews  could  rise  to  such  a  position  of  promi- 
nence. But  they  were  in  the  same  category  with  the  majority 
of  the  romanticists,  in  that  the  conditions  of  the  times  necessi- 
tated their  emancipation  not  only  from  the  strict  conventional 
laws,  but  also  from  their  lowly  despised  state.  Friedrich  the 
Great  had  done  but  little  to  alter  the  legal  status  of  the  Jews." 


'  Berdrow,  O. :  Rahel  Varnhagen.     Graf,  E. :  Literatur-historischc  Fosch- 
ungen,  Vol.  28.     Varnhagen,  K.  A.:    Schriften,  Vol.  19,  211-314. 
'  Boyesen,  H.  H. :  Essays  on  German  Literature,  p.  292. 
'Ritter,  I.  H. :  Geschichte  der  jiidischen  Reformation,  pt.  II,  i,  2. 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Ronianiic  Sclioul  in  Germany     15 

Moses  Mendelssohn,  on  the  other  hand,  had  been  their  intellec- 
tual liberator:  for  it  was  he,  who  awakened  them  to  a  recognition 
of  their  own  powers,  which  for  centuries  had  been  completely 
disregarded.  Still  they  were  not  lying  dormant.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  were  undergoing  the  finest  sort  of  development;  and 
when  they  did  ultimately  gain  recognition,  there  was  seen  in  them 
the  means  of  a  close  relation  between  the  Jews  and  the  German 
people.  Prussian  self-esteem  caused  that  of  the  Jews  to  increase 
in  turn.  The  ultimate  consequence,  however,  was  that,  in  the 
last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century,  not  only  the  masculine 
half  of  fashionable  Berlin,  but  even  the  women  of  the  fashion- 
able world  likewise  sought  admission  to  the  homes  of  the  fore- 
most Jewish  families.  Princes,  nobles  and  diplomats  were  al- 
ready in  close  contact  with  Jewish  bankers  in  the  business  world. 
In  the  Jewish  home  the  spirit  of  democracy  and  uncorrupted 
liberty  reigned  supreme.  Here,  to  say  the  least,  there  existed 
more  intelligence  and  far  less  prejudice  than  was  to  be  found 
in  other  German  circles.  The  easy  social  tone  permitted  by  the 
women,  young,  handsome  and  cultured  leaders,  made  the  circle 
more  and  more  attractive.  Gradually,  it  became  indicative  of 
good  taste  and  good  tone  to  mix  in  Jewish  society. 

While  Friedrich  Schlegel,  Tieck  and  Schleiermacher  were 
practically  drafting  plans  for  the  new  romantic  movement,  an 
influential  Jewess  was  becoming  the  leader  of  her  like-minded 
sisters :  namely,  Rahel  Levin,^^  the  first  great  and  modern  woman 
in  Germany.  She  was  a  person  with  characteristics  absolutely 
her  own.  with  everything  about  her  primordial, — a  real  contri- 
bution to  civilization  and  a  never-ceasing  evolutionary  force. 
Her  personality  exercised  untold  power  over  her  associates,  plac- 
ing them  under  its  indelible  influence.  Henriette  Herz,  one  of 
her  group  and  at  the  same  time  her  most  enthusiastic  rival  in 
the  society  life  of  Berlin,  "declares  that  the  soul  of  Jewish  woman 
thus  awakened,  reached  its  highest  development  in  and  through 
Rahel."  '^     Rahel    longed    for    life    in    sunshine    and    splendor. 


Key,  K. :  Rahel  \'arnhagen,  Chap.  I. 
Ibid.,  pp.  9  flF. 


1 6     Study  ill  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

tervor  and  passion.  With  her  independence  of  thought  aug- 
mented with  a  boundless  passion  for  Hberty,  she  was  far  in 
advance  of  the  women  of  her  time,  whether  Jewish  or  German. 
Her  indomitable  freedom  of  thought  gave  her  courage  to  oppose 
even  her  strict  parents;  and  finally  her  daring,  animated,  un- 
prejudiced nature,  deepened  by  Germanic  culture,  was  actually  re- 
sponsible for  her  leaving  home.  She  purposely  expressed  her- 
self frankly  on  every  point,  utterly  disregarding  the  effect  of  the 
same.  But  in  being  candid  and  outspoken,  she  was  typical  of 
a  great  movement  which  is  still  taking  place, — a  movement, 
which  seeks  to  evolve  the  completely  human  personality  from 
the  feminine  creature  of  the  sex.  The  decisive  point,  however, 
is  that  her  blood  was  that  of  a  Jewess,  and  that  it  was  not  only 
strengthened  by  the  best  qualities  of  the  race,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  stimulated  by  its  most  grievous  misfortunes.  The  oriental 
force  of  love  in  all  her  feelings  gave  rise  to  her  sincere  worship 
of  great  masters.  It  was  the  power  of  such  a  personality  that 
served  as  a  nucleus  for  her  salon,  making  it  magnetic,  so  to 
speak.  For  in  her  alone  were  combined  and  concentrated  all 
the  peculiarities,  which  made  her  circle  so  attractive  to  men  of 
letters.  How  often  were  her  friends  ready  to  be  guided  by  her ! 
Still  she  did  not  wish  to  dominate  them,  even  though  she  un- 
consciously did  so  through  the  power  of  her  intellectuality.  At 
any  rate,  besides  being  a  prototype  of  the  modem  Jewish  woman 
(jf  culture,  Rahel  Levin  was  a  woman,  who  taught  not  only 
the  romanticists,  but  also  other  contemjx)raries  to  hope  for  the 
truths  on  which  we  now  live.  For  just  as  in  the  flourishing 
period  of  Athenian  history,  Aspasia,  who  herself  created 
nothing,  was  to  Socrates  an  inspiration  of  wisdom,  to  Pericles 
of  eloquence,  to  Sophocles  of  poetry,  and  to  Phidias  of  beauty 
of  line;  so  do  we  discern  in  the  background  of  the  Berlin  of 
Schleiermacher '-  and  the  romantic  school  another  woman. 
Rahel,  who  was  similarly  influential. 

This  was  the  first  time  that  Jewish  women  ever   fulfilled 
ri  civilizing  mission  in  modern  society,  due   for  the  most   part 


"  Dilthcv.  \\'.:  Lcbcii  Schleiermachers,  I. 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Roiiiaiilic  School  in  Germany     17 

to  their  great  and  rapid  receptivity  for  another  civih'zation.  New 
seed  fell  on  an  altogether  virgin  soil.  Time-honored  forms  and 
traditions  were  abrogated.  There  was  an  acquisition  of  a  great 
zeal  for  culture,  of  a  passion  and  a  capacity  iov  civilization, 
which,  however,  di'd  not  always  imply  a  corresponding  indi- 
viduality. Such  individuality  characterized  certain  Jewesses  of 
Rahel's  circle,  who  received  impressions  from  the  liberal  ideas 
of  their  time  and  from  its  most  refined  culture.  For  example, 
they  were  enthusiastic  readers  of  Voltaire,  Rousseau  and  Tasso 
in  the  original.  All  were  staunch  admirers  of  Goethe  above  all. 
Naturally  they  extended  a  warm  welcome  to  Friedrich  Schlegcl, 
whose  devotion  to  the  great  pagan  exceeded  even  their  own.  He 
soon  l:>ecame  a  privileged  member  of  the  little  company,  and 
intimately  enough  to  perceive  how  entirely  experimental  their 
lives  were  made  by  the  novelty  of  their  view's.  Young  impres- 
sionable women,  married  when  they  were  mere  children  to  men 
of  their  parents'  choice,  were  beginning  to  make  a  personal  ap- 
plication of  these  lessons  in  freedom  that  they  heard  on  every 
side.  Thus  it  was  a  natural  coincidence  for  this  salon  to  become 
a  synonym  for  unbounded  liberty,  only  in  the  practice  of  which 
could  they  see  any  prospects  for  self -advancement,  for  the  de- 
velopment of  their  individualistic  tendencies,  and.  at  the  same 
time,  for  the  attainment  of  the  ideal  sought  by  the  romanticists 
as  well  as  by  other  zealous  revolutionists. 

When  Friedrich  Schlegel  realized  the  existence  of  such 
principles  in  exact  parallel  with  his  own  philosophy  of  life,  he 
was  not  slow  in  putting  their  theory  into  practice.  The  most 
harmonious  and  most  interesting  example  of  the  embodiment  of 
such  principles  met  him  in  the  person  of  Dorothea  Veit,^^  who 
supplied  him  with  that  which  was  lacking  in  his  existence.  She, 
the  daughter  of  Moses  Mendelssohn,  had  been  married  to  a 
wealthy  Jewish  banker,  when  she  was  only  sixteen  years  old. 
When  she  first  became  acquainted  with  Schlegel.  she  had  for 
many  years  been  the  wife  of  a  man  of  her  parents'  choice,  and 
was  the  mother  of  two  sons.     Thoueli   she  had  never  become 


Sidgwick.  .\.:  Caroline  Schlegel  and  her  Friends,  pp.  153  ff. 


1 8     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

resigned  to  her  life,  she  nevertheless  endured  it  with  dignity. 
Her  mind  had  lain  fallow,  her  tastes  had  been  repressed,  her 
development  had  been  at  a  standstill.  But  her  friendship  with 
Schlegel  soon  ripened  into  the  closest  intimacy,  which  stirred 
up  her  smoldering  energies  and  fanned  the  torpid  passion  of 
her  nature  into  full  blaze.  She,  however,  felt  that  she  was 
justified  in  thus  transforming  that  terrible  destiny  im,posed 
upon  her  by  parental  authority  into  social  and  intellectual  emanci- 
pation. Still  this  episode  met  with  complete  approval  within 
their  immediate  group.  The  plan  for  the  development  of  the 
individual  demanded  such  method  of  procedure.  Then  again, 
it  was  in  direct  accordance  with  their  established  worship  of  the 
god,  "Truth."  '^  To  them  a  person,  who  is  not  true  and  honest 
to  himself,  can  fulfill  no  position  whatever,  neither  in  the  family 
nor  in  the  outside  world.  It  is  the  love  of  truth  that  is  wanting 
in  us.  Some  people  have  too  little  understanding  to  find  the 
truth  within  themselves ;  others  have  no  courage  to  acknowledge 
it.  As  one  grows  older,  life  acquires  greater  significance:  and 
to  the  soulful  person,  the  questions  of  the  meaning  and  aim  of 
life  increase  in  importance  as  the  shades  of  the  evening  gather. 
So  it  was  with  Rahel  and  her  society,  of  which  she  was  the 
center.  Their  beliefs  displayed  more  and  more  their  personal 
characteristics.  Each  one  of  the  circle  naturally  considered  the 
other's  behavior  as  the  direct  reaction  of  the  mental  concept. 

What  was  the  ultimate  consequence  ?  Nothing  but  the  fos- 
tering of  a  childlike  freedom  from  prejudice  in  the  ethical 
sphere,  where  current  prejudices  were  revalued  with  equal  bold- 
ness and  thoroughness.  Subsequently  everything  breathed  an 
air  of  pure  absolute  democracy. — something  which  we  vainly 
try  to  believe  that  we  are  practicing  here  in  America.  Further- 
more, the  salon  developed  its  life  in  the  widest  of  circles.  No 
one  was  especially  invited;  but  all  were  welcome,  whosoever 
they  might  me.  A  sister  or  a  friend  was  often  brought  along 
to  share  in  the  social  privileges,  about  which  the  men  were  so 


"  Key,  E. :  Rahel  Vanihagcn,  p.  178;  pp.  40  ff.    Varnhagen.  K.  A. :  Schrif- 
ten,  Vol.  19,  275. 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Gcrman\      19 

enthusiastic.  Of  course,  it  was  necessary  that  new  attractions 
be  added,  owing  to  the  ever-increasing  number  of  patrons.  The 
drawing  room  was  ahvays  filled  with  men  of  all  vocations  and 
with  women  remarkable  for  l^eauty  and  charm.  Princes  of 
blood  and  aristocrats  here  rubbed  shoulders  with  literary  Bo- 
hemians, statesmen,  poets,  actors  and  actresses.  For  social  life 
was  an  expression  of  life  itself,  a  part  of  their  very  existence. 
If  we  compare  Rahel's  gatherings  with  modern  social  evenings 
in  an  intellectual  circle,  we  find  the  chief  difference  lies  in  the 
fact,  that  the  highest  aim  of  the  former  was  pure  culture,  that 
of  the  latter  being  something  more  tangible.  Conversation  was 
freer  than  elsewhere.  All  questions  were  debatable  with  esprit; 
for  the  hostesses  were  filled  with  the  frankness,  mental  alertness 
and  warmth,  which  were  lacking  in  the  German  women  of  the 
time.  Everything  was  tolerated  except  dullness.  The  most  vital 
problems  of  life  and  society  were  discussed;  and  no  opinion, 
however  extreme,  gave  offense,  that  is,  if  defended  with  ade- 
quate ability  and  knowledge.  This  extraordinary  tolerance  was 
not  the  consequence  of  indifiference,  but  of  an  ultra-normal  hos- 
pitality to  new  ideas,  eagerness  to  hear  all  sides  of  the  question, 
and  a  delight  in  the  interchange  of  forceful  and  significant 
thought.  In  short,  a  movement  was  under  way  to  suppress  the 
insincerity  of  the  age. — a  blemish,  which  is  still  antagonistic  to 
the  present-day  broad-minded  individual. 

Examples  of  Moral  Excesses  and  Extravagances. 

At  this  juncture  some  glaring  examples  might  be  given  to 
show  the  extent,  to  which  the  various  factors  in  the  social  envi- 
ronment of  the  romanticists  affected  their  morals.  Then.  too. 
in  this  particular  only  the  moral  reforms  and  excesses  are  of 
any  concern;  and  further  only  those  are  worthy  of  note  in  the 
cases,  where  the  individual  carries  out  his  view  of  life  in  his 
own  behavior.  Anyone  may  maintain  a  certain  belief,  and  may 
likewise  reduce  the  same  to  expression  in  literary  productions 
or  some  other  written  composition.  But,  what  about  the  men. 
who  not  only  do  this,  but  in  addition  mould  their  very  conduct 


20     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

in  accordance  with  their  behefs?  In  this  respect,  however,  there 
existed  a  very  noticeable  difference  among  the  early  romanticists. 
A  romanticist,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  term,  is  a  man  who 
assumes  a  hostile  attitude  toward  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and 
tries  by  artificial  means  to  revive  the  good  old  times.  Nearest 
to  this  type  was  Friedrich  von  Hardenberg,  more  commonly 
known  by  the  nom  dc  plume  Novalis.^^  In  him  we  see  united 
the  simplicity  of  a  child  and  the  high  sensitiveness  of  a  clair- 
voyant. His  delicate  nature  revealed  something  saintly,  some- 
thing of  sexless  serenity,  something  even  flowerlike.  He  delved 
into  mysticism,  and  was  very  prone  to  flee  to  the  land  of  the 
supernatural.  In  short,  his  plan  for  inner  development  went  no 
further  than  his  imagination.  Thus  his  actions  in  the  outside 
world  were  characterized  by  no  extravagances.  "Die  Welt  wird 
Traum,  der  Traum  wird  Welt."  ^*^  This  is  the  ideal  of  existence 
that  is  held  up  to  us  in  his  Hcinr'xch  von  Ofterdingen.  There  is 
not  one  act  of  free  moral  endeavor  even  hinted  at  in  this  work, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  total  absence  of  a  character,  whose  will 
power  would  be  equal  to  any  decisive  test.  The  entire  novel  is 
a  series  of  hallucinations,  displaying  the  emancipation  of  the 
subconscious  self  and  not  the  real  true  self.  It  is  purely  and 
simply  characteristic  of  Novalis  himself,  with  a  will  apart  from 
his  existence  and  roaming  about  amid  the  incoherent  and  the 
incredible. 

Then  again,  consider  Ludwig  Tieck.  He  was  brought  to 
public  gaze  by  the  appearance  of  his  William  Lovell, — a  sub- 
stitution of  caprice  for  moral  law.  Still,  in  later  years,  in 
the  preface  to  the  second  edition  of  his  novel,  he  claimed  a 
moral  and  educational  purpose  for  this  work  of  his  youth. ^^ 
William  recalls  Wieland's  Agathon,  in  being  a  youth  of  the 
finest  sensibility  and  of  the  deepest  feelings.  He,  like  the  author, 
is  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  nature,  resembling  Rousseau  by 
believing  in  a  former  ideal  state  of  mankind,  scorning  the  pet- 


''■  Heilborn,  E. :  Novalis  der  Romantiker. 

"Minor,  J.  (Ed.):  Heinrich  von  Ofterdingen,  Xovalis  Schriften,  II,  217. 

"  Tiecks  Schriften,  VI,  3  f!. 


S!i(dy  in  Ethics  of  Harly  Ro)iiaiitic  School  in  Germany     21 

tiness  of  modern  life  compared  with  that  of  the  Greeks.  "Ah. 
the  golden  age  of  the  Muses  has  disappeared  forever!  When 
gods  full  of  tenderness  were  still  walking  the  earth,  when  Beaut\- 
and  Grandeur  clad  in  harmonious  robes  were  still  dancing  hand 
in  hand  on  gay  meadows,  when  the  Hours  with  golden  key  still 
opened  Aurora's  gate.  .  .  .  then  the  sublime  and  the  beauti- 
ful had  not  yet  been  degraded  to  the  pretty  and  the  alluring."  '"" 
Tn  this  sentimental  longing  for  an  imaginary  state  of  ideal  hap- 
piness. Tieck's  hero  becomes  a  victim  of  the  first  temptation,  that 
presents  itself  to  him  in  the  form  of  a  Parisian  coquette.  Here, 
his  philosophy  of  life  takes  a  decided  turn,  inadequately  dis- 
guised by  pantheistic  phrases.  "I  pity  the  fools,  who  are  always 
prattling  about  the  depravity  of  the  senses.  .  .  .  They  offer 
sar-iflces  to  a  powerless  deity,  whose  gifts  cannot  satisfy  a 
human  heart.  .  .  .  No,  I  have  pledged  myself  to  the  services 
of  a  higher  deity,  before  which  all  living  nature  is  submissive, 
which  is  a  union  of  every  feeling  in  itself,  which  is  rapture, 
love,  everything — for  which  language  has  no  word.  Only  in 
the  embraces  of  Louise  have  I  come  to  know  what  love  is.  The 
memory  of  Amelia  appears  to  me  now  in  a  dim,  misty  distance. 
I  never  loved  her."  '^  New  temptations  convince  William  that 
he  needs  a  firmer  theoretical  foundation  for  his  practice.  Then 
in  his  ravings  he  exclaims,  "Do  I  not  w\alk  through  this  life 
as  a  somnambulist?  All  I  see  is  only  a  phantom  of  my  inner 
vision.  ...  All  things  exist  only  l3ecause  I  think  them ;  virtue 
exists  only  because  I  think  it.  .  .  .  Everything  submits  to 
my  caprice.  .  .  .  The  world  ...  is  suspended  by  the 
chains  which  are  controlled  by  my  mind.  ...  I  am  the  one 
supreme  law  of  all  nature."  -'*  The  revolting  story  of  seduction, 
murder  and  highway  robbery,  which  forms  the  closing  chapter 
of  Lovell's  career,  is  a  practical  illustration  of  these  principles. 
Tn  fine,  Tieck  has  traced  the  downward  path  of  a  sensitive  and 
passionate  youth.     The  author  was  only  twentv  vears  old  at  the 


"William  Lovell,  II.  2;  Schriften,  VI,  50. 
'Mbid..  II.  23;  1.  c.  VI.  95  ff. 
"Ibid..  III.  23;  I.e.  VI,  17-  flf. 


22     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

time  when  he  wrote  this  novel;  and  he  certainly  had  not  yet 
pierced  to  those  deepest  depths  of  human  misery  and  sin,  which 
he  is  here  pretending  to  sound.  Indeed,  like  Novalis,  he  was 
only  dreaming;  and  these  dreams  were  confined  to  William 
Lovell's  career  and  not  to  Ludwig  Tieck's. 

It  was  Friedrich  Schlegel,  who  capped  the  climax,  namely 
by  his  writing  of  Lucinde.-^  He  was  the  inventor  of  a  new 
moral  code,  thus  showing  that  he  was  anything  but  conservative; 
for  in  this  frank  glorification  of  the  flesh,  he  displayed  open 
hostility  to  spiritual  progress.  No  wonder  that  the  work  fell 
like  a  bombshell  in  the  peaceful  social  circles,  since  it  was  more 
of  a  social  program  than  a  real  novel,  expressing,  as  it  did,  the 
author's  beliefs  plus  that  which  he  had  already  done  in  accord- 
ance with  these  beliefs, — thereby  going  a  step  further  than  the 
rest  of  his  friends.  The  pervading  sentiment  of  the  book  is  one 
of  contempt  and  hatred  for  all  the  moral  rules  and  laws,  with 
which  man  has  imprisoned  his  spirit.  Naturally  it  excited  the 
liveliest  interest  in  Rahel's  coterie,  whose  tone  had  always  been 
the  freest,  and  whose  meml^ers  had  often  strayed  beyond  what 
was  regarded  as  the  boundary-line  of  propriety.--  The  author's 
principles  of  composition  may  be  inferred  from  his  statement, 
that  "nothing  would  be  more  to  the  purpose  of  this  book  than 
that,  in  writing  it.  he  should  lay  aside  what  is  called  order,  and 
assert  to  the  fullest  extent  his  unquestioned  right  to  charming 
lawlessness."  -^  The  plot,  such  as  it  is,  is  contained  in  the 
chapter,  entitled  LcJirjahrc  dcr  Mdnnlichkcit,^*  which  reads  like 
a  distorted  catalogue  of  love  affairs.  The  characters  arc  mere 
types,  from  Julius,  who  stands  for  Schlegel  himself,  and  who 
spends  his  entire  life  in  "reflecting  about  the  possibility  of  a 
permanent  embrace,"  -'  whose  sole  aim  in  life  is  "not  to  have 


"  Kouge,   1.:   Erlauterungen  iibcr  die  Luciude. 

"  Sidgwick.  A.:  Caroline  Schlegel  and  her  Friends,  p.  151. 

^' Lucinde  (edition  of  Universal-Ribliothek,  Vol.  320),  p.  6.  Boyesen.  H. 
H. :  Essays  on  German  Literature,  p.  294.  Brandes,  G. :  Hauptstromungen 
der  Literatur  des  19.  Jhts.,  HI,  74  ff. 


"  Lucinde,  p.  39. 
Ibid.,  p.  27. 


Study  in  Ef/iics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany     23 

enjoyment  alune,  Imt  also  to  enjoy  the  enjoyment,"  -"  to  Lucinde 
herself,  the  embodiment  of  the  romantic  ideal  of  femininity,  or, 
in  other  words,  to  Dorothea  Veit.  "She,  too  (like  Julius),  was 
one  of  those  who  live,  not  in  the  common  world,  but  in  a  world 
of  their  own  creation.  She.  too,  with  a  bold  determination  had 
cast  off  all  social  bonds  and  restrictions,  and  lived  entirely  free 
and  independent."  -" 

But  the  revolutionists,  who  were  strivini^  for  independence 
at  the  turning  point  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries, 
realized  that  the  need  of  morality  continues.  So  they  gained  the 
conception  that  morality  could  not  remain  unaltered,  especially 
since  all  existence  is  progressive.  Consequently,  life  is  but  a  dead 
repetition,  if  there  be  no  development,  which  in  turn  necessitates 
innovations.  Yet,  at  this  time  advancement  was  permitted  least 
of  all  in  the  sphere  of  morals.  Therefore,  one  was  forced  by 
inner  development  to  commit  actions,  so-called  crimes,  which 
were  by  no  means  done  with  an  easy  conscience.  At  that  time, 
voluntarily  acquired  independence  resulted  in  acts  which  seemed 
rather  irrational.  The  Schlegel-Veit  episode  bears  this  out;  and 
therefore  it  had  to  be  placed  within  the  category  of  excesses.  In 
the  struggle  for  personal  liberty  and  personal  satisfaction,  some 
people  went  so  far  as  to  believe,  that  independent  thought  and 
action  involved  the  right  to  end  one's  life,  when  one  wished  to 
suffer  no  longer.  Novalis  had  similar  intentions  after  the  death 
of  his  betrothed,  Sophie  von  Kiihn :  -^  but  lie  sincerely  deemed 
this  the  beginning  of  all  philosophy.  Friedrich  Schlegel,  too, 
at  one  time  entertained  such  a  view.  His  despondency  was,  how- 
ever, due  to  remorse  caused  by  one  of  his  many  affaires  de  coenr. 
The  contents  of  his  correspondence  from  September  1791,  to 
May.  1792.  constitute  a  diary  of  this  episode.  He  also  reflects 
the  incident  in  the  Lucinde,  in  connection  wnth  the  Lisette 
affair.'"     In  all  of  his  previous  erotic  adventures  Schlegel  had 


'^  Lucinde,  p.  5. 

"  Ibid.,  p.  60. 

**  Heilborn.  E. :  Xovalis  der  Romantiker,  pp.  54  ff. 

**  Lucinde,  pp.  46  ff. 


24     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

been  utterly  disappointed.  This  time,  when  he  falls  in  love,  his 
aim  is  to  avenge  his  inner  self.  With  such  an  idea  in  mind,  he 
played  with  the  affections  of  a  coquette,  who  for  once  in  her 
life  wanted  true  love.  Force  of  habit  had  made  her  character 
far  inferior  to  the  standard  that  was  maintained  even  by  the 
women,  who  were  Schlegel's  associates  in  Rahel's  salon.  Her 
careless  mode  of  living  prompted  her  lover  to  cherish  no  real 
love  for  her.  He  merely  made  her  the  object  of  his  boundless 
passion,  permitting  his  heart  and  soul  to  be  filled  with  this  aim. 
Whenever  she  failed  to  understand  his  inclinations,  he  became 
offended.  It  was  not  his  purpose  to  gain  any  triumph  of  which 
he  could  boast.  Not  once  did  he  try  to  idealize  her  love,  not 
even  the  tragic  outcome  which  it  finally  assumed.  For  when 
she  had  truthfully  and  sincerely  requited  his  apparent  affection, 
he  had  already  tired  of  the  experiment,  and  considered  himself 
incapable  of  coping  with  the  situation.  He  then  abandoned  her, 
whereupon  she  committed  suicide.  This  misfortune  was  the 
cause  of  his  awakening.  He  realized  that  she  had  been  utterly 
deceived  in  him,  and  that  her  self-inflicted  death  was  the  con- 
sequence of  his  repellent  behavior.  Her  sad  death  had  a  startling 
effect  upon  the  passionate  youth.  He  became  sick  at  heart;  his 
torture  and  remorse  grew,  until,  in  despair  and  desiring  to 
end  his  suffering,  he  surrendered  himself  to  thoughts  of  suicide. 
All  of  the  foregoing  tended  toward  one  goal,  namely,  duty 
to  one's  self.  Self -contentment  or  self-satisfaction,  not  self- 
preservation  alone,  became  the  gist  of  the  first  law  of  nature. 
So  in  the  mind  of  a  man  like  Friedrich  Schlegel,  it  was  a  greater 
virtue  to  grasp  what  one's  nature  passionately  demands.  Such 
a  type  of  human  being  is  apparently  concerned  with  the  fact, 
that  man's  attitude  toward  moral  law  is  the  determining  factor 
of  his  fate.  The  individual  is  organically  coherent  with  his 
environment.  By  environment  are  his  duties  defined:  and  what- 
ever happiness  is  to  be  found  on  earth  results  from  the  fulfill- 
ment of  these  duties.  This  sense  of  duty,  in  conjunction  with 
a  pronounced  belief  in  freedom  from  prejudice,  made  possible  the 
evolution  of  not  only  the  theory,  but  even  the  practice  of  free 
love.     But  this  departure  from  established  moral  law  did  not  in 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Roiiiaiitic  School  in  Germany     -'5 

tlie  least  suffice  the  revolutionists.  They  even  reduced  the  same 
to  literarv  expression ;  just  as  Friedrich  Schlegel  did  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Luciiidc,  which  came  to  the  seemingly  prudish  Ber- 
lin societv  like  a  thunderlx>lt  out  of  a  clear  sky.  The  critics 
readily  charged  such  inventors  with  gross  immorality.  Yet, 
what  do  we  find  revealed  upon  an  analysis  of  the  situation? 
Nothing  but  unwarranted  alarm,  surprise  and  disgust. 

The  secret  of  such  practice  lay  in  their  individualistic  free- 
dom:  their  actions  were  unconcealed  and  done  in  the  presence 
of  everyone ;  they  assumed  no  cloak  for  whatever  they  did.  Their 
conduct  was  directed  by  their  own  manner  of  thought,  and  by 
no  means  founded  on  public  opinion.  They  differed  widely  from 
the  many  individuals,  w^ho  were  so  weak  and  so  lacking  in  self- 
reliance,  as  to  sufifer  under  the  pressure  of  this  public  opinion, 
thereby  becoming  wretched  unhappy  beings  for  life.  Such  suf- 
fering was  absolutely  imnecessary  according  to  the  conceptions 
of  these  revolutionists;  for  they  tried  to  satisfy  the  many  dif- 
ferent conditions,  only  in  so  far  as  their  ow^n  personal  advance- 
ment was  concerned.  So  when  love  was  at  stake,  their  idea  was 
apparently,  that  one  might  as  well  attempt  to  untie  the  Gordian 
knot  as  to  make  an  effort  to  behave  in  accordance  with  the 
enigmas  of  public  opinion.  In  this  case  the  only  persons,  who 
need  to  be  considered,  are  those  making  the  choice ;  the  outside 
world  of  busybodies.  who  themselves  live  in  houses  of  very  thin 
glass,  can  only  view  the  situation  superficially.  Furthermore, 
love  brings  natural  law  into  play.  Natural  law  in  turn  involves 
the  human  instincts.  Instinct  in  conjunction  with  an  environ- 
ment, which  is  in  harmony  with  the  instinct,  forms  a  firmly  estab- 
lished bond  for  concerted  action.  Then,  too,  it  must  l^e  remem- 
bered that  pagan  philosophy  inspired  the  people  of  this  era  to 
live  in  the  senses  as  well  as  in  the  intellect.  In  fact  the  seventh 
commandment  was  very  laxly  interpreted  throughout  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  Therefore  this  characteristic,  together  with  their 
sense  of  emancipation  resulted  in  casting  to  the  winds  the  ideas, 
upon  which  they  had  been  reared,  and  in  considering  the  same 
as  remnants  of  gloomy  asceticism,  and  finally  in  adopting  a  code 
of  morals  at  variance  with  the  usual  Christian  code. 


26     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

Such  natures  as  these  were  called  pagan  and  Hellenic,  and 
were  attracted  and  cherished  by  Rahel's  circle.  Pauline  W' iesel,^'- 
one  of  Rahel's  dearest  friends,  who  enraptured  men  as  the  most 
perfect  revelation  of  Aphrodite,  lived  amid  naive  frankness  in 
exact  harmony  with  her  pagan  nature.  She  was  intimate  with 
Prince  Louis  Ferdinand  of  Prussia,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
patrons  of  this  society  and  a  combination  of  all  that  was  courage- 
ous and  progressive.  Since  her  married  life  had  been  a  seething 
hotbed  of  discontentment  from  the  start,  she  felt  that  there  was 
absolutely  no  obligation  to  keep  her  behavior  from  bringing  dis- 
pleasure to  her  husband.  After  the  latter  had  consented  to  a 
separation,  Rahel  displayed  complete  approval,  writing  Pauline 
that  her  strong  heart  was  not  made  for  suffering.  It  was  in  this 
direction  that  this  group  played  such  a  great  role.  The  men, 
in  particular,  however  different  they  might  be  amongst  them- 
selves,— from  a  Schleiermacher  to  a  Prince  Louis  Ferdinand, 
the  "Prussian  Alcibiades," — all  felt  that  in  Rahel's  salon  they 
had  seen  a  revelation  of  genuine  womanly  nature,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  which  to  them  was  the  means  of  progressive  life  and 
existence, — what  men  look  for,  what  men  seek.  When  they  fail 
to  find  this  sincerity  and  truth  to  oneself,  this  directness  and 
freshness  at  home,  or  yet  in  society  of  "good  tone,"  then  they 
look  for  it  in  that  of  "bad  tone." 

Such  women,  even  though  not  in  harmony  with  the  rest  of 
their  sex  of  the  time,  were  very  primitive  and  purely  natural. 
They,  like  Dorothea  Veit  or  Caroline  Boehmer,^^  were  the  ones 
who  had  strong  rich  natures  to  reveal,  and  who  proved  to  be 
at  all  times  the  best  inspirations  of  writers.  Even  though  Sophie 
von  Kiihn  was  only  a  fifteen-year-old  child,  living  completely 
outside  of  this  environment ;  still  she  was  far  in  advance  of  her 
age,  and  became  the  "silent  witness,"  who  gave  the  testimony 
upon  which  her  lover,  Novalis,  based  his  literary  activity.  In 
fact,  no  literature  was  ever  l^eautiful  and  fresh  during  periods, 
when  women  were  unnatural,  indirect  and  not  true  to  their  own 


Key,  E. :  Rahel  Varnhagen,  pp.  57  ff. 

Sidgwick,  .'\. :  Caroline  Schlegel  and  her  Friends,  pp.  yy  ff. 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Rojiiaiitic  School  in  Gcruianx     27 

femininity.  Here  we  have  the  final  reason  for  the  decline  of 
our  social  life.  Feminine  individuality  came  into  vogue  at  the 
dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  has  continued  its  develop- 
ment into  our  present  century,  owing  to  new  fields  of  work  and 
wider  opportunities  for  education,  thereby  inducing  a  uniformitv 
wherein  women  occupy  themselves  with  the  same  tasks.  The\-, 
of  course,  have  a  more  independent  outward  position,  which 
does  not  necessarily  imply  that  they  are  more  natural  or  richer 
personalities;  but,  instead,  they  have  acquired  unusual  feminine 
qualities,  which  obtain  recognition  more  easily,  because  the  ma- 
jority of  their  kind  are  in  the  same  category.  No  woman  will 
purchase  her  freedom  of  thought  and  action  or  her  right  to  be 
natural,  simply  because  she  does  not  want  to  forfeit  her  social 
position,  and  be  considered  uncultivated,  by  deviating  from  the 
opinion  of  the  said  majority.  Thus  the  personal  element  is  be- 
coming less,  while  the  public  contribution  to  woman's  work  is 
ever  increasing.  Nevertheless,  woman  is  still  prone  to  be  an  \ 
individual  where  a  feeling  of  solidarity  is  required,  and  to  feel  ' 
collectively  where  she  should  be  an  individual.  Woman  will 
always  be  a  drawback  to  society  and  to  the  life  of  the  home  and 
the  community,  until  she  comes  to  realize  that  the  source  of  all 
virtues  is  justice  for  all  others  and  courage  for  herself.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  purely  natural  women,  at  whose  shrine  the  ro- 
manticists worshipped,  augmented  productiveness,  humanity  and 
culture,  by  teaching  others  to  seek  the  truth,  and  by  judging 
everything  as  to  its  intrinsic  value  and  not  as  to  its  deficiencies. 
Just  to  show  how  indispensable  women  were  to  the  existence 
of  the  romanticists,  let  a  very  conspicuous  example  be  cited  in 
this  respect.  As  is  well  known.  August  W'ilhclm  Schlegel  was 
a  stamich  admirer  of  Caroline  Boehmer.  In  1793,  when  she 
was  living  in  hiding  in  Frankfurt,  disgraced  by  her  foolish  in- 
trigues in  Mainz,  he  rescued  her  from  her  sad  plight,  and  took 
her  to  Leipzig.  Here  he  placed  her  under  the  protecting  care 
of  his  brother  Friedrich ;  but  the  latter  soon  reversed  the  situa- 
tion. For,  being  charmed  by  her  simplicity  and  her  divine  love 
of  truth,  Friedrich  was  quite  ready  to  lay  down  his  life  for  her; 
but,  out  of  regard  for  his  brother,  he  forced  himself  to  conceal 


28     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

his  love  from  her.  At  any  rate,  she  protected  him,  and  rescued 
him  from  a  life  of  debauchery  and  extravagance,  that  had  brought 
him  to  the  verge  of  suicide.  It  was  she,  who  aroused  in  him 
the  courage  to  do  the  work  that  gave  him  a  place  and  a  name 
in  the  literary  annals.  In  one  of  his  letters  as  well  as  in  the 
Lucinde,  he  confesses  that  his  association  with  Caroline  Boehmer 
was  of  the  greatest  value  to  him,^-  and  that  he  was  a  better  man 
through  her  untiring  efiforts  in  his  behalf. 

Like  Rousseau,  like  Goethe,  the  romanticists  drew  their 
erotic  views  from  their  own  soul  and  its  powers  of  loving  pas- 
sionately. Whenever  they  saw  in  any  personality  the  means  for 
complete  happiness  in  life,  their  sense  of  liberty  and  selfishness 
spurred  them  on  to  overstep  all  barriers,  even  those  set  by  moral 
law  and  convention.  It  has  been  observed  that  Friedrich 
Schlegel's  meeting  with  Dorothea  Veit  quickly  resulted  in  inti- 
mate friendship.  Never  before  had  a  woman  made  such  a  deep 
impression  upon  him, — which,  in  fact,  was  an  indelible  one.  He 
felt  convinced  that  this  was  the  one  love  of  his  life,  and  that 
his  affections  were  fully  requited.  He  was  fascinated  by  her 
generous  devotion  and  great  intelligence;  and  she  in  turn  did 
not  hesitate  to  yield  to  his  personal  charm,  to  his  eloquence 
and  boyish  enthusiasm.  That  she  was  already  married  caused 
him  no  serious  scruples.  She  was  ready  to  sacrifice  family, 
means  and  reputation,  in  her  aim  to  love  as  she  so  desired.  In 
the  conviction  that  she  was  doing  a  courageous  and  admirable 
act,^^  she  left  her  husband  in  the  winter  of  1798,  and  committed 
herself  to  Schlegel's  keeping  without  the  blessing  of  the  church. 
Their  illegal  union  caused  terrible  and  scandalous  gossip  in  and 
around  Berlin ;  and  the  world  turned  its  Ijack  on  the  sinners, 
deeming  them  social  outcasts.  "We  all  l>elong  to  the  tribe  of 
glorious  outlaws,"  said  Friedrich  Schlegel  in  a  letter  to  Caroline, 
his  sister-in-law.'^ 

To  cap  the  climax,  however,  during  the  first  year  of  their 


"  Lucinde.  pp.  53  flF. 

"  Brandes,  G. :  Die  Hauptstromungen  der  Literatur  des  19.  Jlus.,  Ill,  89. 

'*  Sidgwick,  A.:  Caroline  Schlegel  and  her  Friends,  pp.  155  ff. 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany     2r) 

union,  Sclilci;cl  published  the  Lucimlc,  the  manifesto  of  his  social 
views,  in  which  he  portra}cd  all  of  his  affaires  dc  cocitr,  even 
including  the  most  recent  one  with  Dorothea.  The  veil  of  fic- 
titious names  and  circumstances  was  then  so  transparent  that  it 
concealed  nothing:.  The  book,  therefore,  appealed  to  the  wide- 
spread interest  that  most  people  feel  in  their  neighlwrs'  affairs, 
especially  when  these  doings  are  a  bit  scandalous  or  tragic.  And 
then  the  opinions  advanced  by  the  author  were  so  unpopular 
and  audacious,  and  yet  so  much  in  harmony  with  certain  other 
modern  conceptions,  that  everyone  lent  a  willing  ear  to  them, 
either  with  pleasure  or  for  the  sake  of  attacking  them  with  ut- 
most violence.  But  it  was  a  common  characteristic  of  the  ro- 
manticists to  reduce  their  life's  activity  either  partly  or  in  its 
entirety  to  literary  expression.  Novalis  resorted  to  this  method 
in  his  autobiographical  romance,  Heinrich  von  Oftcrdingcn ; 
and  Tieck,  too,  included  within  his  William  Loz'cll  his  erotic 
experiences  in  conjunction  with  the  moral  views,  which  he  hap- 
pily never  put  into  practice.  But  with  the  author  of  the  Liicindc, 
we  must  be  fair,  and  note  that  in  his  own  life  his  heart  put  his 
intellect  to  shame.  Still  he  never  wavered  in  his  devotion  to 
the  woman,  who,  for  his  sake,  had  braved  the  judgment  of  the 
world,  and  exchanged  a  life  of  luxury  and  ease  for  one  of  vain 
and  aimless  wanderings.  Their  love,  in  spite  of  its  lawlessness, 
was  its  own  law.  and  needed,  according  to  their  own  testimony, 
no  statute  to  shield  it;  for  it  rested  on  the  sure  foundation  of 
kinship  of  the  soul. 

But  men  like  Schlegel  and  Schleiermacher  were  susceptible, 
to  an  undue  extent,  to  the  charms  of  women,  especially  so,  since 
these  two  made  their  vows,  and  hung  their  votive  offerings  in 
the  temple  of  Rahel's  salon.  The  newness  of  the  types  of  these 
women  fascinated  them  to  distraction.  The  women,  on  their 
part,  yielded  all  too  readily  to  their  admirers,  who  often  refrained 
from  shaking  the  tree,  because  of  the  feeling  of  certainty  that 
the  fruit  would  drop.  The  question  of  ownership  would  arise 
in  this  contingency  together  with  many  unpleasant  complications. 
They  therefore  preferred  to  run  away.  Ijefore  the  temptation  to 
pluck  the  fruit  became  irresistible.     Moreover,  if  they  could  not 


30     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Roiiiantic  School  in  Germany 

be  lord  supreme  and  sole  usurper,  they  wished  to  be  told  so,  in 
order  to  tear  themselves  away  and  quit  the  frivolous  life,  into 
which  they  were  being  led.  Still  further,  the  man  had  to  ask 
himself  now,  what  obligation  he  had  incurred  for  that  which 
he  had  accepted.  He  had  to  re-arrange  his  life  with  reference 
to  the  introduction  of  this  new  element  of  love.  Perhaps  the 
girl  had  not  awakened  in  his  soul  all  the  emotions  he  was  cap- 
able of  feeling.  Then  he  contemplated  her  as  a  disturbing 
factor  in  his  scheme  of  existence,  whereby  she  lost  much  of  her 
fascination.  Instead  of  helping  his  self-development,  she  threat- 
ened to  interfere  with  it,  by  the  claim  which  the  mere  fact  of 
her  love  seemed  to  make  upon  his  interest  and  attention.  In 
order  to  escape  the  responsibility  and  pain  of  a  definite  rupture, 
he  betakes  himself  away,  and  by  cruel  neglect  allows  the  relation 
to  dwindle  away  into  nothing,  disregarding  the  outcome,  whether 
tragic  or  otherwise.  Ofttimes  he  considers  himself  too  young 
or  too  sensitive  to  be  able  to  witness  the  pain  which  he  has 
inflicted.  The  image  of  her  extending  him  tearfully  her  hand 
at  their  parting  haunts  him.  This  vision,  which  was  wont  to 
appear,  causes  him  much  misery.  Although  he  endeavors  to 
condone  his  conduct  and  for  a  while  is  a  prey  to  remorse,  his 
sense  of  freedom  and  desire  for  happiness  dissuades  him  against 
returning  and  manfully  assuming  responsibility  for  his  actions. 
A  man  acts  wisely  in  refusing  to  become  enslaved  to  a  life,  that 
shows  all  prospects  of  becoming  incongenial  to  him.  To  be 
sure,  the  man,  who  remains  and  l>ears  the  blunt,  may  also  be 
called  wise.  But  the  rare  exceptional  man,  richly  endowed,  who 
sees  the  benevolent  imposition  which  nature  practices  upon  him, 
and  refuses  to  play  into  her  hands,  is  he,  after  all.  to  be  so  ruth- 
lessly condemned?  Even  though  he  tries  to  make  amends,  the 
critics  are  sure  to  say,  that  such  penance  is  worthless.  No 
wrong  can  be  undone ;  and  a  mere  emotional  repentance,  how- 
ever much  it  may  benefit  the  penitent,  is  absolutely  of  no  value 
to  her  against  whom  he  has  sinned.  But  this  is  not  the  feeling 
of  the  individual,  who  realizes  that  his  fate  rests  upon  his 
actions  alone.  He  knows  that  nature  is  a  trickster,  and  that, 
through  her  laws,  the  power  of  the  sex  causes  the  young  man 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany     31 

to  imagine  himself  in  love  with  the  first  girl  who  appeals  to 
him  physically.  But  the  youth  is  the  victim  of  nature,  who  has 
no  regard  for  the  individual ;  for  she  is  ruthless,  and  achieves 
her  aim  and  discards  completely  the  medium  of  achievement. 
So  we  can't  honestly  condemn  him,  who  fails  to  answer  nature's 
call  by  marriage,  l)ecause  he  awakes  to  see  that  he  is  only  being- 
used  as  a  mere  pawn  in  nature's  gigantic  scheme  to  perpetuate 
the  human  race.  He  feels  the  need  of  aid,  sympath)-  and  under- 
standing in  his  work;  he  longs  for  companionship,  a  partner, 
and  not  a  toy. 

Still  the  man  goes  on  and  on  through  life,  in  search  of 
this  ideal  of  companionship,  the  attainment  of  which  is  to  bring 
him  complete  happiness.  Again  and  again  he  falls  in  love,  only 
to  find  the  object  of  his  affections  failing  to  answer  the  simple 
demand  which  he  has  made  of  her,  namely,  to  help  him  in  the 
upward  climb  and  to  climb  with  him.  But,  why  does  he  not 
cast  his  project  to  the  winds  and  travel  without  a  companion? 
He  can  no  more  help  seeking  a  mate  than  a  cork  can  help  being 
carried  forward  on  the  crest  of  a  wave.  For  nature  has  him 
in  her  grasp.  He  obeys  her ;  and  there  is  no  other  way  out  of 
the  situation.  After  many  trials  and  disappointments,  he  is 
favored  by  fortune,  if  he  meets  the  woman,  who  eclipses  all  his 
previous  erotic  adventures,  and  who  furnishes  adequate  evidence 
of  fitting  in  with  his  scheme  of  life.  Then  Iwth  individuals  may 
look  forw-ard  to  a  happy  state  of  matrimony. 

It  was  at  this  crisis  that  complications  arose  in  the  case  of 
Friedrich  Schlegel.  with  regard  to  his  relations  with  Dorothea 
Veit.  As  has  already  been  seen,  he  discerned  in  her  love  his 
salvation;  and  he  therefore  was  averse  to  giving  her  up  and 
sacrificing  his  happiness,  simply  because  she  was  married.  This 
condition  led  him  and  many  of  his  co-workers  to  believe,  that 
legal  marriage  was  an  injurious  and  abject  institution,  particu- 
larly when  it  entered  one's  life  to  such  an  extent,  that  it  cur- 
tailed progressive  self -development.  To  them  it  seemed  hor- 
rible that  two  people,  who  had  ceased  to  care  for  each  other, 
should  still  live  side  by  side  in  the  midst  of  discontentment  and 
unhappiness,  or  that  either  husband  or  wife  should  incur  dis- 


32     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

grace  by  yielding  to  a  natural  preference  for  a  third  person,  or 
that  a  wife's  rights  and  privileges  should  not  be  on  a  par  with 
those  of  her  husband.  But  since  nature  was  still  their  mistress, 
her  law  was  destined  to  take  precedence  over  all,  with  conven- 
tional law  as  her  most  aggressive  rival  and  opponent  in  the  field 
of  morality.  In  the  human  being  nature  is  revealed  in  the  form 
of  instinct,  convention  in  the  form  of  habit.  Therefore,  there 
is  a  greater  tendency  for  the  mind  to  revolt  against  that  which 
is  acquired,  rather  than  that  which  is  innate.  If  the  individual 
is  so  ultra-normally  defiant  as  to  rebel  against  nature,  she  is 
finished  with  him,  tosses  him  aside  and  leaves  him  to  shift  for 
himself.  Whether  the  result  be  recklessness  and  despair,  or 
determination  and  realization,  is  a  problem  for  the  individual  to 
solve.  Inability  to  solve  the  problem  causes  unrest  to  creep 
into  the  heart  of  the  individual  concerned.  As  unrest  is  a  pro- 
gressive disease,  its  next  phase  is  dissatisfaction,  which  immedi- 
ately develops  into  rebellion  and  ends  in  disaster.  Consequently, 
to  avert  such  self-destruction  and  in  despair  of  finding  a  better 
solution,  Friedrich  Schlegel  resorted  to  "Gewissensehe"  or  nat- 
ural marriage ;  ^^  and,  in  taking  this  stand,  he  was  even  unselfishly 
supported  and  defended  by  the  rest  of  his  school. 

The  fact,  that  he  was  sincere  in  his  convictions,  is  shown 
by  the  boldness  manifested  in  his  comments  on  marriage.  "Al- 
most all  marriages  are  only  concubinages,  morganatic  marriages, 
or  rather  provisional  attempts  at  and  distant  approaches  to  a 
real  marriage.  Its  real  nature  accords  with  all  spiritual  and 
worldly  laws,  and  provides  that  two  persons  should  be  as  one. 
A  fine  idea  it  is,  the  realization  of  which  appears  to  have  ever  so 
many  great  complexities.  On  that  account  free  will  should  be 
limited  as  little  as  possible,  if  it  has  something  to  do  with  the 
question,  as  to  whether  a  person  wants  to  l>e  an  individual  or 
the  integral  part  of  a  mutual  personality.  .  .  .  If  the  state, 
however,  desires  to  sustain  by  force  tlie  quite  unsuccessful  at- 
tempts at  marriage,  then  it  thereby  makes  impossible  marriage 
itself,  which  could  possibly  be  realized  after  new  and  perhaps 


Luciiiflc,  pp.  62-63;  70-71. 


Study  ill  Ethics  of  Early  Roiiiaiitic  School  in  Ccniiany     33 

more  fortunate  attempts."  ■""'  Still  it  must  Ije  remembered  that 
marriage  contains  a  large  element  of  the  unforeseen,  and  im- 
poses many  complex  duties  and  obligations  upon  the  contracting 
persons.  So  a  man,  who  is  a  synonym  for  absolute  freedom, 
and  whose  heart  is  bent  on  a  definite  scheme  of  self-development, 
may  well  shrink  from  embarking  upon  such  a  venturesome  enter- 
prise; for  he  cannot  endure  the  conflicting  dictates  of  artificial 
conventionality.  Then  when  he,  who  is  an  extreme  radical  in 
the  sphere  of  moral  law,  meets  with  barriers  that  prevent  a 
legal  union,  he  is  very,  very  prone  to  tread  paths  extending  far 
beyond  the  confines  of  conventional  morality.  Consequently,  it 
was  natural  for  a  man  like  Schlegel  to  show  great  willingness  to 
break  the  ancient  bonds,  and  to  conceive  a  new  type  of  union, 
namely  a  union  of  the  soul,  "devotion  unfettered.'' 

But  Schlegel's  idea  was,  that  legal  ties  were  absolutely 
unnecessary  and  superfluous.  For  the  natural  woman,  with  real 
feminine  qualities,  married  in  her  youth  to  a  man  of  her  parents' 
choice,  who  is  many  years  her  senior,  and  for  whom  she  has 
never  produced  a  spark  of  affection,  lives  a  life  to  which  she 
can  never  become  resigned.  And  if  she  awakes  to  the  realiza- 
tion of  her  own  powers  by  her  association  with  a  man,  with 
whom  there  arises  a  mutual  exchange  of  ideas  and  impressions, 
and  if  their  mutual  love  makes  their  two  lives  a  united  whole, 
then  there  is  sufficiently  strong  foundation  for  a  natural  union. 
"Her  entire  being  is  lx»und  to  him.  .  .  .  Her  soul  seeks 
to  embrace  him,  will  be  satisfied  with  him ;  and  only  in  the 
closest  union  with  him  can  it  find  complete  contentment.  That 
endeavor  is  real  womanly  love;  and  this  closest  union,  .  .  . 
where  two  become  and  remain  as  one  by  means  of  reciprocal 
necessities  and  dependence,  is  nothing  other  than  marriage.  A 
woman,  who  loves  a  man  more  than  anything  else. — who  derives 
from  him  her  l:>est  existence — all  her  existence, — who  wouldn't 
like  to  live  without  him.  and  who  couldn't  live  without  him,  she 
(to  be  sure)  in  her  heart  is  his  wife."  ^'"     Naturally  such  a  view 


Friedrich  Schlegel:  Jugend.schriften  (edit,  hy  J.  Minor),  IJ.  208,  34. 
Friedrich  Schlegel:  Jugendschriften,  II,  j~,  31. 


34     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

only  subjected  its  author  to  more  and  more  criticism.  Nowadays 
one  might  say,  that  such  a  man  has  no  right  to  fall  in  love  with 
any  woman.  But,  no  honorable  man  will  court  the  favor  of  a 
woman  and  win  her  afifection,  unless  he  has  counted  the  cost 
and  means  to  pay  it.  If  she  deem  it  cheap  and  below  stand- 
ard, she.  on  the  other  hand,  has  no  right  to  foster  his  love,  and 
should  withhold  her  consent,  before  serious  complications  set 
in.  But  as  long  as  she  remains  reticent  or  expresses  her  sincere 
approval,  he  will  naturally  do  as  he  sees  fit.  However,  some- 
thing must  be  said  on  the  other  side  of  the  question.  Nature 
has  treated  the  male  creature  rather  unfairly  in  this  matter. 
She  has  implanted  in  him  a  strong  passion,  which  draws  him, 
in  spite  of  his  better  judgment,  toward  the  other  sex.  This 
passion  beclouds  his  reasoning  powers,  and  prevents  him  from 
seeing  and  thinking  clearly.  So  in  addition  to  his  confusion 
abnormal  results  must  come  to  pass,  especially  when  mankind 
reaches  such  a  stage  in  his  quest  for  liberty,  that  he  looks  upon 
marriage  as  a  mere  obstacle. 

Not  much  more  could  be  expected  of  Friedrich  Schlegel, 
chiefly  when  his  close  friendship  with  Schleiermacher  is  taken 
into  consideration.^^  August  Wilhelm  thought  that  something 
might  be  made  of  his  brother,  Friedrich,  if  Schleiermacher  took 
him  in  hand.^®  He  was  not  wanting  in  ability,  but  his  method  of 
going  to  work  was  curious,  li  left  to  himself,  he  would  burrow 
deeper  and  deeper  like  a  mole.  So,  to  make  a  long  story  short, 
he  was  entrusted  to  the  care  of  Schleiermacher,  who  of  all  the 
romanticists  was  a  staunch  and  most  enthusiastic  advocate  of 
freedom  and  an  ultra-radical  despiser  of  conventional  forms  and 
traditions.  The  friendship  soon  ripened  into  intimacy;  and  the 
young  protestant  minister  lost  no  time  in  introducing  Schlegel 
into  Berlin  society.  But  once  here,  his  young  charge  found 
ample  meat  for  his  liberal  views,  in  which  he  found  apparent 
encouragement  even  from  his  guardian.  For  at  that  time, 
Schleiermacher,  then  minister  of  the  Charite  Church  in  Berlin, 


*  Dilthey.  W. :  Lieben  Schleiermachers.  T,  200  ff. 
"•Sidgwick,  A.:  Caroline  Schlegel  and  her  Friends,  pp.  131  ff. 


Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Roiminlic  School  in  Ccrnuuiy     35 

cherished  a  profound  admiration  for  tlie  Jewess  Hcnriette  Hcrz, 
the  wife  of  the  physician  Herz,  and  one  of  the  chief  ornaments 
in  Rahel's  circle.  She  vokintarily  requited  his  affection  and 
regard:  and  their  relations  became  the  most  intimate.  When 
scandalous  gossip  concerning  his  relation  to  Henriette  began  lo 
reach  his  ears,  he  showed  no  surprise,  and  even  attempted  to 
justify  himself.  But  not  so  with  her;  for  she  had  from  the 
beginning  known  what  she  risked  by  accepting  his  friendship, 
and  calmly  decided  that  he  was  worth  more  to  her  than  the 
opinion  of  the  world.  Then  the  puzzling  question  arose  as  to 
how  her  husband  would  endure  her  neglect.  Owing  to  his  reti- 
cence in  the  matter,  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  he  sanctioned 
his  wife's  intimacy  with  the  ?esthetic  clergyman.  But  there  was 
revolution  in  the  air ;  and  it  really  became  the  fashion  to  shock 
one's  fellow  man.  So  Dr.  Herz,  knowing  his  own  inferiority  to 
his  wife,  probably  accepted  the  inevitable. 

Strange  to  say,  Schleiermacher  did  not  follow  his  scheme 
of  life  with  such  deplorable  consistency  as  Schlegel  did.  in  that 
he  failed  to  take  Henriette  into  his  keeping.  Yet,  he  seem- 
ingly tried  to  defend  the  viewpoint  of  Schlegel  in  his  confidential 
letters  on  the  Lucinde^^  At  all  events,  considering  his  social 
position  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  in  the  Prussian  capital,  it 
was  a  most  audacious  thing  for  him  to  do.  Still  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  attack  the  prudish  insincerity  of  the  age.  which  took 
secret  delight  in  the  lascivious  romances  of  Wieland.  while  it 
cried  out  in  a  virtuous  horror  at  the  immorality  of  Schlegel,  who, 
dealing  with  essentially  the  same  thing,  had  the  courage  to  tell 
the  truth  and  call  it  by  its  right  name.  It  is  likewise  very  expedi- 
ent to  note,  that  the  opposition  and  criticism,  which  he  met 
at  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  did  but  little  to  check  his  revolu- 
tionary ardor.  His  audacity  increased:  and  he  continued  to 
revel  in  his  extravagances,  disregarding  all  criticism,  however 
biting  it  was.  But  the  cultivated  citizen  of  that  day  had  only 
a  vague  and  shadowy  notion  of  the  state :  and  he  did  not  recog- 
nize himself  as  a  member  of  general  society.     His  first  obliga- 

"  Dilthey.  W. :  Lebcn  Schleiermachers,  I,  494  fT. 


36     Study  in  Ethics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany 

tion  was  to  himself  and  his  own  personal  interests:  and  his  most 
absorbing  business  was  to  study  and  develop  himself.  This  class 
was  not  exceptional  in  formulating  this  scheme  of  using  the 
world  as  an  educative  agency;  but  they  were  exceptional  in  ad- 
hering to  this  formula,  and  in  carrying  out  the  same  to  the  end, 
in  making  every  life  that  came  in  contact  with  their  own  a 
tributary  to  theirs,  and,  in  fine,  in  transforming  what  was  indi- 
vidual and  accidental  into  high  literary  and  enduring  human 
types. 

Conclusion. 

Without  the  least  doubt,  the  early  romantic  school  was  dis- 
tinctly characterized  by  a  decided  departure  from  and  revolt 
against  long  established  moral  law.  It  must  have  required  bold 
endeavor  and  strong  initiative  for  anyone  to  rebel  against  the 
social  order,  existing  at  the  time  when  the  Aufkldriing  had 
placed  its  stamp  on  the  whole  of  western  Europe.  The  influ- 
ence of  a  political  revolution,  such  as  was  under  way  in  France, 
was,  however,  destined  to  be  felt  in  the  nearby  countries,  espe- 
cially in  those  contiguous  to  the  center  of  the  revolution.  In 
such  a  case,  at  least  two  opposing  factions  will  arise :  the  con- 
servatives maintaining  the  status  quo,  the  radicals  striking  out 
for  themselves  and  entrusting  their  behavior  to  the  imagination 
of  their  creative  minds.  At  this  juncture  there  is  a  dual  envi- 
ronment; and  no  one  can  live  apart  from  both  phases  of  these 
surroundings.  One's  conduct  is  thereby  regulated  by  either  one 
of  the  tendencies  or  by  both.  Very  often  a  new  class  will  come 
into  vogue,  which  will  try  to  maintain  a  stand  half  way  between 
the  two  extremes.  This  type  is  the  source  of  the  greatest  con- 
tention, because  its  adherents  attempt  to  kill  two  birds  with 
one  stone,  by  partly  believing  in  the  principles  of  one  extreme 
and  acting  in  accordance  with  those  of  the  other.  And  since  no 
human  being  can  successfully  attend  to  more  than  one  thing  at 
a  time,  this  medial  class  consequently  is  bound  to  become  in- 
sincere and  prudish,  disregarding  the  doings  of  the  conservatives 
of  the  old  school,  but  railing  against  the  progressive  and  im- 


Study  in  Et/iics  of  Early  Romantic  School  in  Germany     37 

aginative  radical.  The  conscientious  radical,  on  the  other  hand, 
acquires  a  more  independent  viewpoint,  bases  his  actions  on  the 
same  and  commits  acts,  which  are  deemed  irrational  and  which 
are  even  placed  in  the  category  of  crimes.  Such  a  t}'pe  of  radical 
is  incarnated  in  the  personalities  of  a  Friedrich  Schlegel  or  a 
Schleiermacher.  whose  revolutionary  tendencies  and  impulses 
found  their  origin  in  the  new  environment  of  the  time  and  were 
spurred  on  to  action  by  the  insincerity  of  the  age. 

It's  a  grievous  fault  that  these  men  in  question  lived  in 
such  an  environment,  the  radical  and  revolutionary  tendencies 
of  W'hich  their  natures  forced  them  to  follow  with  lamentable 
consistency.  Even  though  Schlegel  was  somewhat  weak  and 
effeminate,  he  was  the  greatest  thinker  of  his  school;  and  he 
could  have  reaped  1)ountiful  fruits,  had  be  exerted  his  efforts 
in  other  fields  of  work.  Then,  too.  Schleiermacher,  although  a 
clergyman  and  at  the  same  time  involved  in  matters  secular, 
should  not  be  too  severely  criticized,  because  he  was  employing 
a  method  to  bring  into  the  church  the  idea  of  fellow^ship.  Fur- 
thermore, we  of  today  cannot  even  dare  to  be  merciless  in  criti- 
cizing these  men  of  the  early  nineteenth  century.  For  they  can- 
not be  considered  apart  from  their  time,  in  which  the  tastes 
of  the  people,  their  manner  of  thought  and  range  of  information 
were  very  different  from  those  of  the  present  day.  What  we 
with  our  present  habits  of  thought  may  find  somewhat  immoral 
was  not  immoral  to  the  romanticist  more  than  a  century  ago. 
What  we  believe  in  the  realms  of  morals  and  religion  is  not  what 
they  believed.  Therefore,  we  cannot  afford  to  be  narrow  in  our 
opinions,  nor  set  down  as  immoral  or  in  bad  taste  all,  that  does 
not  fit  into  our  strict  artificial  grooves. 


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